First Report on Identification of Fusarium graminearum Species Complex Members from Turkey and Iran

Abstract

Fusarium graminearum species complex is the major Fusarium head blight disease pathogen inworldwide. Fusarium head blight disease lead to damages on small grain cereals. The identificationof the F. graminearum species complex is important for improving disease control and management.Traditional identification methods such as macroscopy and microscopy analysis need to besupported by biochemical and genetics assays. Thus, DNA sequencing-based methods is one of themost preferred, reliable, low priced in the identification methods. In the study, 54 F. graminearumisolates obtained from diseased wheat, barley and corn fields in Turkey and Iran were identified bymorphological characteristics and then characterized by species-specific SCAR marker. β-tubulin,Tef1-α, 28s rDNA and Histone H3 genes amplified, purified and then sequenced. The mergedmultiloci length was obtained as last of all 2215 bp. These sequencing results was used to multilocigenotyping assays. Last of all, 20 isolates were determined as F. graminearum sensu stricto bymultiloci genotyping analysis. Remaining isolates were identified as F. asiaticum or Fusarium sp.The findings are important in terms of revealing the first-time identification in Turkish and Iranianisolates as F. graminearum species complex members by amplification four (β-tubulin, Tef1-α, 28srDNA and Histone H3) highly conserved DNA regions.